Animated GIFs have been trending in the marketing world for some time now.

As brands find new ways to promote their products and services, animated posts with their cool messaging and fun element stand out from the rest.

So, whether you’re just starting with GIFs or if you don’t want to spend a considerable chunk of your money and effort on animation, this list featuring the best animated GIF makers can help you out. We’ll also discuss the basics and share a quick tutorial on how to make GIFs.

Let’s get started.

What is a GIF?

A Graphics Interchange Format or GIF is a series of static images (frames) played in succession to create a unique, video-like effect. It can support 8‑bit color, which means it can display up to 256 different colors. Every image frame in a GIF animation comes with a time delay that determines how long a frame is to be displayed.

A GIF is a series of static images (frames) played in succession to create a unique, video-like effect.

Moving away from the technical definition, a GIF is that small video cum image that you often see on social media posts, emails, and even blog posts. Oh, and think of your favorite animated memes, most of them are GIFs too!

Do I need GIFs for my brand?

Yes, you do. Adding GIFs to your brand’s share of voice delivers several benefits. Here are some of them:

Better explanation

For starters, it’s worth noting that GIFs make explaining a concept, situation, or emotion better. From comical memes to meaningful animations, with GIFs, you can add to the explanation in a fun way.

Attracting visitors

A dull, lengthy blog post vs. a conversational post with eye-catching and relevant GIFs and images. Which one will you like better? Most visitors seek visual elements that supplement the information they get from a piece of content. Therefore, adding more fun and information to a single post can attract more visitors and augment their online experience.

Improve branding

By being a part of the digital landscape, GIF animations help improve branding. For example, you can include your brand’s logo and colors while creating a GIF and brand your company or its offerings besides expressing your message.

So, what is a GIF Creator?

A GIF creator or generator uses uploaded video or image content to make GIFs from scratch. Most generators come with GIF editing features like adding text, emojis, filters, and backgrounds to give you fabulous creations. Some also offer the ability to embed files or to share them directly to different social media channels.

In a more traditional way, businesses or brands would hire an animator to create GIFs. Alternatively, they can look for existing GIFs editors online. But both these ways can cost a lot of time and effort. This is why using a GIF creator is advisable, as it helps make a GIF that conveys what you want to say without wasted money and effort.

So, if you are looking for a quick and rather easy way to make a GIF from video, then using a GIF generator is the way to go. It also lets you play with your imagination and get the results you desire.

12 Best Online Animated GIF Makers for 2022

GIFs are almost everywhere on social. But making unique GIFs comes down to choosing the right GIF maker online. Here are our top 12 recommendations:

1. Wave.video

Well, we have put Wave.video at the No.1 spot for various reasons. First, it’s super easy to use. You can actually turn any part of a video into an animated GIF with our GIF maker. Then, it makes sharing effortless. You can share your GIFs across social media channels and even in your emails and through messengers. Also, there are plenty of versatile GIF editing features that will help you make your GIF one of a kind.

Plus, with Wave.video, you can save your video entirely or in parts partly (up to 15 seconds) as a GIF. No third-party tools or applications are needed.

So, how to make a GIF using Wave.video?

By following these three simple steps:

Step 1 – Start your project

Log into your Wave.video account and start a new video. You can upload your video, choose a template or create a new video from scratch.

Step 2 – Customize and Publish

Turn a segment of your video into a GIF. Then, edit your GIF by adding exciting elements like text, overlays, and stickers to make it look cool. Once your GIF is ready, hit “Publish” on the top-right and choose “GIF” from the available options.

Step 3 – Enter details and download

Choose the part of the video that you want to convert into a GIF. Next, select the start time and duration. Edit the size details if required and set the FPS as per your requirements. Finally, check the “Loop clip” box to generate a GIF that plays on an infinite loop.

When all’s done, click on the “Generate” tab and then “Download” to share it with the world.

2. Make A GIF

If you’re looking for an online GIF creator that helps you create animated GIFs from your pictures or even a Facebook or YouTube video URL, go to Make A GIF.  It even lets you use a webcam video directly and rearrange the image order using its simple drag-and-drop interface.

3. Imgflip

If you’re more of a person who’d like to see every change you make in your GIF as you create one, this is your kind of GIF maker. It also lets you adjust the pictures’ quality, width, and height if you’re making a GIF from images. You can also customize the animation time and rearrange the photos with this remarkable tool.

4. GIFPAL

As the name suggests, this is your online pal to create stunning GIFs. It’s a user-friendly tool that offers you the preview functionality to keep track of your GIF as you make changes. It also lets you customize the quality of your images as well as the speed.

5. GIFMaker.me

GIFMaker.me is another great animated GIF generator that makes it quick and painless to create GIFs from images and videos. Whether you want a GIF creator that works on Mac, Windows, or Linux, this one has you covered. Additionally, it lets you reduce the file size, resize and even reverse a GIF. So check it out for all your GIF-related needs, you’d not be disappointed.

6. Gifs.com

Alright, so this GIF maker’s claim to fame is “the fastest way to make and edit gifs and short videos“. And we couldn’t agree more. It is indeed one of the fastest GIF creators out there. In addition, this free and easy-to-use media editor offers some fantastic effects. So, use it for tweening, clipping, or animations, and you’d like it nonetheless.

7. Imgur

A GIF gallery as well as creator, Imgur offers you the best of both worlds. Besides making a GIF from a video and posting it to the gallery, you can explore and find the best GIFs for your content. Moreover, there’s the functionality to edit the GIFs you create with features like crop, rotate, resize, etc.

8. Picasion

Looking for a GIF maker that lets you upload your pictures from Flickr or Picasa Web? Picasion is your best bet. This tool also enables you to make avatars and doesn’t require Flash. Another pro is its ability to adjust animation speed to make it fast, normal, and slow. But the icing on the cake is that you can add glitter text to your GIF once it’s ready.

9. GIPHY

If you’re a GIF lover, chances are you must have come across GIPHY at least once already. This one’s an all-rounder with its super awesome search engine for GIFs and its GIF maker that lets you create GIFs from images, videos, and URLs from YouTube, Vimeo, and GIPHY too.

Using it is pretty hassle-free, and you can make your GIFs quirkier with stickers, text, filters, as well as freehand drawings.

10. Ezgif.com

This is another GIF maker that lives up to its name. Ezgif has indeed made GIF-making a lot easier online with its up to 2000 files limit and user-friendly interface. You also get access to a range of features required to make a rocking GIF.

Furthermore, it allows to flip the image and include text. But the best part is this tool lets you create GIFs free of watermarks or attribution.

11. GIMP

Although renowned as one of the best freeware and open-source image editors, GIMP is a fantastic GIF generator. With more than 100 plugins, this app lets you perform multiple undo and redo actions. There’s also a foreground extraction tool, and you get transformable selections and paths to get your desired animation.

12. ScreenToGif

ScreenToGIF is a screen, webcam, and sketchboard recorder that comes with an integrated editor. With it, you can record your screen and pick a segment of that recording to create a GIF. You can also use your webcam to record GIFs or the sketchboard to record your drawing as a GIF.

But that’s only scratching the surface.

The built-in editor does the heavy lifting for your GIF must-haves. Try it to see how well it works out for you.

And that’s it!

We hope this comprehensive list of GIF makers can help you find the right one for your GIF goals. Whether it’s grabbing attention or adding some fun to your content, this list can serve as the foundation of a powerful GIF stack for all your marketing efforts. So, pick the right app and use it for all your GIF editing and making requirements.

And if you want to know more on how to use GIFs for marketing, here’s a handy guide.